The Austin, Texas-based company says its products are used in servers, workstations, high-end computing platforms and networking equipment. It says the rate of growth in demand for greater memory is exceeding the pace at which memory manufacturers are able to produce higher density monolithic memory chips. It boasts that its technology can deliver up to four times the memory capacity per memory module as compared to current-generation monolithic memory chips.
Vertically stacking DRAM onto a single connection shortens the distance electrical signals must travel, minimizing delays in transmission and enabling higher operating speeds.
Staktek sells its products to large OEMs, including Cisco Systems, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Sun Microsystems, through their suppliers such as Celestica, Infineon Technologies, Kingston Technology, Micron Technology and Samsung Electronics.
Anyone investing in memory companies must expect a roller-coaster ride and Staktek is no exception. Revenue hit a peak of $57.2m in 1999, plunged to $39.1m the following year, rose 23.7% to $48.3m in 2001 and fell back to $40.3m last year. It is currently on an upswing again, reaching $31.5m up to August 20 this year compared with $24.1m in the first nine months last year.
However it has been profitable since 1999, though it recorded a net loss of $2.5m so far this year.
Staktek acknowledges that it has many competitors, including its own partners. It says that its DRAM suppliers, such as Elpida, Infineon, Micron and Samsung, have developed many competing technologies. Other competitors, such as DPAC Technologies and SimpleTech, use competing technologies that stack standard DRAM chips.
For the future it is pinning hopes on its fourth generation system, the High Performance Stakpak, which was introduced earlier this year but has yet to produce any revenue.
This article is based on material originally produced by ComputerWire.
